Coconut rice

        Coconut rice is a quick, flavorful and authentic rice dish of south India. It is prepared with freshly grated coconut and other green spices. This recipe is given by mom. When I was a kid, I used to wait for Thursday nights to eat this rice as my mom does fasting on Thursdays and in the night she takes no time to cook this dish for us :)

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice (Basmathi/Raw rice) 2 cups
Grated coconut 1 cup
Salt As needed
Oil 1 tbsp
Onion -1 medium finely chopped (Optional)

For Tempering:

Ghee - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tbsp
Channa dal - 1 tbsp
Green chillies 4 -5 slit them
Dry red chillies -2
Peanuts -- 1/3 cup
Cashew nuts - 8
Asafoetida - a pinch
Turmeric - a pinch (Very much optional)
Curry leaves  - 8
ginger - finely chopped
Cilantro

Steps:

1. Cook rice seperately make sure it is fluffy.
2. Heat ghee in a pan.Add cumin,mustard ,red chilli whole, hing, turmeric and saute till the aroma is released.
3. Now add the channna dal, urad dal , green chillies, ginger curry leaves cashew nuts, peanuts and saute them all till soft.
4. Put the finely chopped onions and mix them pretty well for 3-4 mins till the onions pieces are cooked.
5. Add the freshly grated coconut and fry for about a minute.
6. Now add the cooked rice and mix everything gently.

Check and adjust the amount of salt needed at this stage. Delicious and super quick Coconut rice is ready to be enjoyed. :)

Garnish with cilantro, Serve hot  & enjoy your meal.

P.S: 
Leftover rice can be used.
Turmeric, peanuts, onions are optional, I just added them for color and as per our taste.

Mangalore bajji or Gole baji

Gole baji is a popular mangalore snack which is made using maida as the key ingredient. My husband being from Karnataka border is fond of all the yummy snacks from there. Recently we visited a friend's home and we had this snack there. He loved it so much that he always asks me to google for the recipe and make it for him :) And I am always IN for such deep fried junk food!!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 Cup Maida
1/2 cup Curd
Few finely chopped chunks of ginger,
Chillies
& Coriander leaves
1/2 medium sized Onion (Optional)
a pinch of baking soda
Salt as required
Oil (required for deep fry)

Steps:

1. Mix maida, salt,curd, baking soda in a large bowl.
2. Add all the chopped vegetables to it.
3. Keep it aside for 20 mins.
(If you are in a hurry, skip this step)
4. Heat oil in a pan for sometime, make small roundles of batter and drop them in oil.
5. Wait till it gets golden color and put them on a napkin to get rid of excess oil.

                                       Serve them hot with green chutney!